Random Audiobook Podcasts

Published in 1915, The Scarecrow of Oz is the ninth book in the Oz book series and focuses on the adventures of Cap’n Bill, Trot, and the Scarecrow, who find themselves entangled in the politics of Jinxland and must work against formidable odds to overthrow its despot and restore rule to its rightful successor. Apart from the appearances of familiar faces, the novel also accommodates a fresh set of characters and magical creatures residing in the Land of Oz, further contributing to its classification as a typical Baum masterpiece. The installment begins in the calm and sunny California with the introduction of Cap’n Bill, a sailor with a wooden leg, and his young companion Trot as they set out on a relaxed boating jaunt. However, the weather suddenly turns dark and stormy, and as a result, the rowboat gets caught in a whirlpool and is dragged below, only to later surface in a mysterious underwater cavern. Disoriented, the two meet and befriend a peculiar looking creature called an Ork, which resembles a stork, but with a parrot head and propeller tail. Nevertheless, the creature proves to be of great assistance, and helps Cap’n Bill and Trot escape the cave which subsequently marks the beginning of their exhilarating journey, as the novel witnesses the endearing seaman and young girl in a venture to reach the Land of Oz. Moreover, it follows their trail as they make their way across the Land of Mo, past the Deadly Desert, and finally sees them landing in a remote region of Oz known as Jinxland. Here they become acquainted with its turbulent politics and become embroiled in its complex affairs. Soon after they are joined by the Scarecrow who in an attempt to alleviate the dire circumstances and ensure safe passage to Emerald City gets caught up in a scuffle himself. A vibrant depiction of the characters and native wonders of Oz, the novel does not fail to amaze with its portrayal of intrepid travelers and their riveting adventures in the already well known, though unpredictable setting. Blending natural phenomena, magical berries, witches, politics, and romance into a generous serving of enthralling adventure, The Scarecrow of Oz offers a whimsical episode in the series, while also providing an illustrative portrayal of the Oz landscape. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Kids, L. Frank Baum, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Myths/Legends, The Scarecrow of Oz

Save for his raucous, rhapsodical autobiography, Ecce Homo, The Antichrist is the last thing that Nietzsche ever wrote, and so it may be accepted as a statement of some of his most salient ideas in their final form. Of all Nietzsche’s books, The Antichrist comes nearest to conventionality in form. It presents a connected argument with very few interludes, and has a beginning, a middle and an end.

Categories: Arts, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Friedrich Nietzsche, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Philosophy, religion, The Antichrist

Two boys from the Foundling Hospital are given the same name, with disastrous consequences in adulthood. Two associates, wishing to right the wrong, are commissioned to find a missing heir. Their quest takes them from fungous wine cellars in the City of London to the sunshine of the Mediterranean — across the Alps in winter. Danger and treachery would prevail were it not for the courage of the heroine and the faithful company servant. The story contains crafted descriptions, well-drawn and diverse characters, eerie and exotic backgrounds, mystery, semi-concealed identities, brinkmanship with death, romance, the eventual triumph of Good over Evil, and many other elements expected in classic Dickens. First published in 1867 there are thematic parallels with other books from Dickens’ mature writings, including Little Dorrit (1857) and especially Our Mutual Friend (1865). The Listener will decide if this story yields insights into The Mystery of Edwin Drood (unfinished 1870). Wilkie Collings collaborated with Charles Dickens to produce this ‘Christmas’ book and the stage play of the same name. In the book Collins assisted in Act 1 and Act 4; Collins scripted most of the stage play with Dickens’ assistance. If this book were released today it would be splashed “THE BOOK OF THE FILM”. Summary by Alan Chant.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Charles Dickens, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, No Thoroughfare

An American diplomat’s family moves into an ancient stately mansion. They’re warned by the owner that it is haunted by a most horrifying and gruesome spirit who had once cruelly murdered his own wife. The story progresses with creaking floor boards, mysterious passages, dark attics, clanking chains, and weird howling. Yet, the reader is totally unprepared for Oscar Wilde’s brand of tongue in cheek humor as he takes all the ingredients of a traditional ghost story and turns it on its head, and creates a hilarious parody instead of a morbid saga! The Canterville Ghost was the first of Oscar Wilde’s short stories to be published. It appeared in a magazine in 1887 and provides a prophetic glimpse into Wilde’s genius for comic timing, dialogue and situational comedy. He had a successful career as a journalist and poet and consequently turned to fiction and drama. The plot is one that leaves the reader chuckling at every turn. The American diplomat and his family are products of a purely pragmatic culture which has no patience with sentimentality and superstitions. The English mansion is steeped in legends about ancient curses and the diabolical doings of a seventeenth century specter. The Americans believe in a robust, healthy and practical way of life and use all manner of branded cleaning products. The two youngest members of the family called the Stars and Stripes set wicked traps for the ghost, while the daughter Virginia is the only one who can truly appreciate the poor ghost’s situation. The Canterville Ghost revels in stereotypes and mocks at society’s typical ways of viewing people and history. Pitting the brash and impertinent Americans against the dignified and aristocratic English provides plenty of room for comedy. The reader comes to realize that the ghosts of the past have no power over the optimism of the present. It is also a tale of the clash between the Old and New Worlds, of new money and old, traditions and modernity. It also portrays the gradual decay of the aristocratic English way of life in the Victorian era and the advent of American heiresses whose untold millions made in a variety of industrial businesses pumped new blood into the dying aristocracy of Old England. However, the genteel good breeding of Lord Canterville and the innocent goodness of fifteen year old Virginia provide food for thought as Wilde creates characters who stand out in their humanity and compassion. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Comedy, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Horror/Ghost stories, humor, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost

Over twenty consecutive months, Charles Dickens enthralled readers with his monthly installments of the novel Bleak House, a complex and compelling portrayal of the English judicial system. Serialized in his own magazine, Household Words, between 1852 and 1853, the book is deemed to be his finest work and is his ninth novel. Using an innovative literary technique known as “free indirect discourse,” where the narrator himself speaks through the medium of one of his main characters, Dickens uses the heroine Esther Summerson and an unidentified narrator as the vehicle for his story. Esther Summerson is a young woman who is brought up under mysterious circumstances by several people, including an aunt who hates her, a Chancery lawyer and finally another lawyer John Jarndyce, a wealthy, extremely kind and compassionate man. After completing her education, she moves into the Jarndyce residence, appropriately named Bleak House, where two other wards of his also live. Secrets begin to tumble out of many cupboards as one of the wards, Richard Carstone, begins investigating a century old case, Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce. It concerns a complicated and huge inheritance case which has been going on for generations. In fact, the phrase “jarndyce and jarndyce” has entered the English language as a metaphor for interminable court proceedings. Almost all the major characters in the book are connected in some way to this case. There are plenty of wonderfully named, extremely memorable characters in the convoluted structure of plots and subplots, masterfully constructed by a writer working at his peak. Many of them are based on real people Dickens knew while the accounts of the legal system are based on his real-life experiences as a court clerk. The portraits of scheming lawyers like Mr. Tulkington and the merciless moneylender Grandfather Smallweed and an almost bewildering host of minor characters make Bleak House one of the most interesting and entertaining novels. Dickens’ magnum opus focuses extensively on the ills of the English judicial system, but it is also a brilliant detective story. Inspector Bucket, a police detective, is put in charge of the murder of Mr. Tulkington and this leads to the unraveling of a deep and secret plot. A mysterious note written by a dead man known only as “Nemo,” an aristocratic lady with secrets of her own, her suspicious husband, her disappearance and Esther’s romance with a country doctor are some of the elements that make up the sweeping panorama of Bleak House. Whether you’re reading it for the first time, or it’s an old favorite, Bleak House is indeed an invaluable addition to your bookshelf. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Bleak House, Charles Dickens, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, War stories

A young man from a poor, working-class background, passionate about education, who aspires to become a professor. His teacher, a respected role model who turns out to have feet of clay. An independent, free-spirited woman. Another who is scheming, selfish and flirtatious. Dominating their lives is the magnificent university town of Christminster. All these and a host of other colorful, memorable characters inhabit the pages of Thomas Hardy’s monumental fourteenth novel published in 1895. Thomas Hardy’s fame as a novelist rivals that of even Dickens in Victorian literature. Creator of unforgettable novels like Far from the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Ubervilles, Under the Greenwood Tree and the Mayor of Casterbridge, his essential humanity and the depth that he brings to his characters are what sets him apart. A largely self-taught man, he went on to become a skilled architect and restorer of old buildings. His life-long love of languages, music, country-side life, languages and history emerges in most of his works. Jude the Obscure tells the story of a young orphan, Jude Fawley who is devoted to academics though his impoverished aunt (who rears him) wants him to start work as early as possible as a stone-mason. Jude’s inspirational teacher, Richard Phillotson, leaves the village for better pastures in the university at Christminster, leaving Jude to dream about a future career as a teacher. Instead, the travails of his working-class background begin to slowly consume him. He is deceived into marrying Arabella Donn, the come-hither daughter of the local butcher. After many trials and tribulations, Jude reaches Christminster, where a terrible disappointment awaits him. Jude’s meeting with his brilliant, free-thinking cousin Sue Bridehead is another turning point in his life. The novel scandalized Victorian readers when it first came out due to its revolutionary ideas about sexuality, women’s rights and the rise of the working class. Copies of the book were publicly burned in London and other cities. Thousands of people wrote to Hardy from all over the world, severely criticizing him/the novel which shocked him into abandoning fiction-writing till his death. He continued to publish poetry and drama and remained a successful writer. In 1912, a new edition was well-received by more modern readers and the book delights young and old even today. The universal themes of marriage, love, class-distinctions, education, women’s rights, religion and human migrations from their native homes to cities are brilliantly explored in Jude the Obscure, making it a must read classic.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Jude the Obscure, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, romance, Thomas Hardy

Candlelight Stories offers a free podcast with literary content, news, and opinion. We are adding short stories, weird tales, horror, and poetry to our offerings. We’ve been making audio since 1995.

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture, TV & Film

Tags: audiobook, Books, classic, fiction, horror, literary, Literature, poetry, short, Stories, story, weird

William Shakespeare’s most well-known play is more than most people realize. While it is the story of star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, it is also the story of two families in the middle of a bitter feud. Many people avoid the story because they believe it will be too difficult to read, but this is not true at all. Within a few paragraphs, the play captures your imagination and attention. Juliet is 13 years old and is love with the son of her father’s enemy. Her father has promised that she will marry another boy when it is time, but she refuses to accept the suit. One night, Romeo sneaks into a ball in Juliet’s home (in hopes of seeing a girl he is in love with) when he overhears Juliet speaking of her love for him. He steps out of the shadows and they decide to marry. They are married the next day in secret. It is discovered that Romeo snuck into the ball and Juliet’s cousin is angry and challenges him to a duel. When Romeo refuses to fight, a man is killed and Romeo is banished from the country. Juliet is thrown into a depression and her father decides she needs to get married right away. However, the Friar who helped Juliet marry Romeo comes up with a plan to get Romeo back and to unite the families. The plan unravels quickly, though. The story of Romeo and Juliet has everything that a reader could want. Like many of Shakespeare’s works, it has comedy and tragedy, but it also has love, family, duals, good and evil. Do not pick up the book assuming that knowing about the tragedy will ruin the story. The tale of how both families got to this point is one that will not soon be forgotten. The lessons of love and forgiveness are ones that are just as important more than 400 years after the play was written.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Dramatic Works, ebooks, free audio books, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, play, romance, Romeo and Juliet, tragedy, William Shakespeare

He hosts an all expenses paid luxury cruise to Europe for fifty guests and showers them with expensive gifts. When he’s mugged in a dark alley, he insists that the thugs also take the $300 stashed away in his back pocket. He flies into a rage whenever one of his employees suggests cutting costs. Every time he places a bet, he wins, causing him even more despair! In Brewster’s Millions by George Barr McCutcheon, a classic riches-to-rags tale, Montgomery Brewster is bound by the terms of an eccentric uncle’s will to spend one million dollars completely within a year so that he can lay claim to an even bigger fortune. Published in 1902 under the pseudonym of Richard Greaves, the book was actually written on the basis of a bet between the writer and his publisher! Best known for his seven novels set in the fictional East European country of Graustark, McCutcheon convinced his publisher that a good plot did not need a well-known name to become a best-selling novel. He accepted the $100 bet, wrote Brewster’s Millions in six weeks flat and submitted it under the name of Richard Greaves. The rest, as they say, became publishing history. In just two months, the book sold more than 150,000 copies and earned its author lifelong fame. The book also marks a shift from the British-centric literature that was popular in America in the early years of the 20th century. The plot is ingenious and racy. Monty Brewster is a young man in modest circumstances, who inherits $1 million from his grandfather. A few days later, a wealthy uncle also dies, leaving an even bigger fortune to Monty. However, there’s a catch. The late grandfather and uncle were sworn enemies and under the terms of the uncle’s will, Monty must spend his entire inheritance of $1 million within a year to claim his uncle’s fabulous fortune. This proves more difficult than Monty imagined. He cannot donate excessively to charity, give away too much to beggars or “lose” his money gambling. In fact, he has uncanny luck while gambling and manages to win every time he plays! With a romance woven into the plot, it takes readers on a merry ride to the unexpected climax. Brewster’s Millions has been adapted to stage, film and television round the world. Hollywood itself made its first movie based on the book in 1914 and the latest version in 1985. The book is indeed a fun read for all ages! More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Brewster's Millions, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, George Barr McCutcheon, humor, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com

The strands woven together in Gustave Flaubert’s famous, path breaking 1856 novel Madame Bovary include a provincial town in Normandy, France, a shy young doctor with an indifferent career and a lovely young woman who lives in a fantasy world based on the innumerable romantic novels she reads. Of course there is also the story of a dull marriage punctuated by passionate, adulterous love affairs. First published in serial form in a Parisian magazine and deemed to be the “perfect” novel, Flaubert’s debut was received by both readers and critics with acclaim and admiration. However, its bold theme, path breaking ideas of women’s rights and the condemnation of middleclass morality led to its being legally attacked by the Church and the government. This was in spite of the fact that the magazine’s editors had already done their own censoring of “offending passages.” Flaubert himself was shocked and the resulting very public trial in 1857 added to the book’s notoriety. The charges were dismissed and the book was seen by the judges as promoting morality and strengthening of family values instead. However, it remained controversial and was banned time and again by various upholders of “morality” till as recently as 1954. Madame Bovary marks a watershed in the development of the novel form. Flaubert’s revolutionary techniques like the use of “style indirect libre” where the environment itself responds to a person’s emotions, his use of realism and objectivity were all radically new literary devices. In the almost linear, simple plot, Charles Bovary is a truly “ordinary” man. A country doctor who marries a wife chosen by his mother, he then meets and falls in love with the beautiful, young Emma Roualt when he visits her father’s farm on a call. His wife, a much older woman, is jealous, but she soon dies. Charles and Emma marry and move to a larger town where Emma swiftly becomes disillusioned with her husband, their financial situation and social position, though she has attained motherhood by now. She embarks on a series of love affairs to satisfy her hankering after fame and fortune. Each of these affairs brings about her moral and psychological degradation, while she simultaneously plunges herself and her family into financial ruin. What follows is a vivid depiction of life and the human condition. For the discerning and sensitive reader, Flaubert’s brilliant portrait of the tragically flawed Emma Bovary, with her shallow, provincial preoccupations, her craving for love and money and the meaninglessness of bourgeois life in the countryside make this one of the finest works of literature.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Gustave Flaubert, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Madame Bovary, Non-fiction, romance, tragedy

The creators of the audiobook for UCD’s digital multimedia edition of ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’ have considerable expertise in bringing James Joyce’s voice to life. University College Dublin Professor Gerardine Meaney and Athena Media previously collaborated with Barry McGovern, the well-known Irish actor, on the podcast series and an iPhone app based on ‘The Dead’. In 2016, Sam McGovern joined this team to create a full-length audio version of Joyce’s first novel. Rather than featuring a single voice, this reading of the novel creates a dialogue between Joyce’s mature voice and that of his younger, remembered self. The interplay of these two voices in this reading of the 1916 text represents a unique contemporary interpretation of Joyce’s coming-of-age novel, whose themes remain as raw and as relevant today as they did upon their original publication. The digital multimedia edition of Joyce’s first novel was created by a team from University College Dublin as part of the Decade of Centenaries (2012-2022), which celebrates Irish history and cultural heritage. www.joyceportrait100.com

Categories: Arts, Education, Society & Culture

Tags: a, artist, as, audiobook, Barry, college, dublin, james, Joyce, Man, McGovern, of, Portrait, sam, The, university, young

It wasn’t Archie’s fault really. It’s true he went to America and fell in love with Lucille, the daughter of a millionaire hotel proprietor and if he did marry her–well, what else was there to do?From his point of view, the whole thing was a thoroughly good egg; but Mr. Brewster, his father-in-law, thought differently, Archie had neither money nor occupation, which was distasteful in the eyes of the industrious Mr. Brewster; but the real bar was the fact that he had once adversely criticised one of his hotels. Archie does his best to heal the breach; but, being something of an ass, genus priceless, he finds it almost beyond his powers to placate “the man-eating fish” whom Providence has given him as a father-in-law.

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, humor, Indiscretions of Archie, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, P. G. Wodehouse

For the Irish historian John Bagnell Bury, history should be treated as a science and not a mere branch of literature. Many contemporary histories written in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century were poetic and heroic in tone, blending fact and fiction, myths and legends. They sometimes relied on sources from Shakespeare and classical poets. For Bury, the facts of history may be legendary or romantic in nature, but they should be recounted in a scholarly and non-judgmental manner, without the accompanying emotions. His aim was simply to “tell history as it happened.” A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great was first published in 1900. It went on to become a standard text in many colleges and was used as a definitive guide to our understanding of the pre-Hellenistic kingdoms. Richly supplemented with maps and columnar notes, the book deals with its subject in an academic manner, but it is a work which is easily accessible to the ordinary reader as well. There are many interesting illustrations from antiquities in the British Museum and photographs of busts from various art galleries. There are 18 chapters, portraying the beginnings of Ancient Greece in the Heroic Age. The author is also concerned about how previous histories of Ancient Greece have largely ignored the Greek presence in Persia, Asia Minor, Italy and Sicily while emphasizing the Greek history of Sparta and Athens. Later chapters deal with Athenian democracy, Pericles and the Golden Age, the advance of the Persians, the Peloponnesian war and the decline of Athenian Greece, the rise of Thebes, the Syracusan empire, the rise of Macedonia and the final conquest of Persia and East Asia. There is also an interesting chapter on Aristotle and Alexander. Aristotle’s background and how he became Alexander’s teacher, the differing visions that tutor and pupil held about the ideal city-state and the ultimate influence that these ideas had on the development of Europe are discussed in the last chapter. Bury was a young genius who became a Fellow at Trinity College Dublin at the young age of 24 and a professor at Cambridge, where he taught both history and Greek, before he was forty. His interests included medieval studies and philology. His works cover a range of subjects including Greek and Byzantine history and the role of the Church and the Papacy in the 19th century. Though some of the information in this book may be a little dated following new studies, technological advances and discoveries uncovered by the latest research, it is extremely readable and interesting. A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great is a historical and interesting read. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, History, John B. Bury, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction

Villette was Charlotte Bronte’s last published novel. It came out in 1853, just two years before her death in 1855. It is a poignant, strangely lonely and sad work, steeped in conflict between society’s demands and personal desires. Set in the fictional town of Villette in France, it is the story of the young and intelligent Lucy Snowe, the narrator in the book. She is described by another character in the book as having “no beauty…no attractive accomplishments…” and strangely seems to lack a personal history or living relatives. Her godmother Mrs. Bretton looks after the orphaned Lucy, who suddenly leaves the house for a reason that is not made clear to readers. She finds employment as a companion to an elderly widow, Mrs. Marchmont. When her employer dies, Lucy is left without a job or prospects. Impulsively, she decides to travel to Europe and en route, meets the young and spoiled heiress, Ginevra Fanshaw, a student of a girls’ school in Villette. Lucy then travels to Villette to work first as a nanny to the principal’s children and later as a teacher. Here she encounters two men who will play a great role in her life. The young and handsome Dr. John Bretton, her godmother’s grandson, and the arrogant, bad tempered Professor Paul Emmanuel, a fellow lodger at her boarding house who gradually begins to thaw towards Lucy. The rest of the story follows Lucy’s life in Villette. Lucy Snowe is not a very lovable heroine. She is passive, secretive and yet she excites the reader’s interest and compassion and one is compellingly drawn into her story. Villette is also a novel with deep psychological underpinnings. Many have dubbed it even greater than Jane Eyre. It is also one of Bronte’s most autobiographical works. The story harks back to the time when Charlotte and Emily Bronte traveled to Brussels to work in a small pensionnat run by M. Constantin Heger and his wife. Charlotte is reputed to have fallen deeply and hopelessly in love with M. Heger. Paul Emmanuel is said to be based on Heger, while John Bretton is a fictional portrayal of George Murray Smith, her publisher who had once courter her. Villette was written at a time when Bronte was deeply depressed following the deaths of three of her siblings. It was also criticized by contemporary reviewers for its depiction of a woman’s passions and desires, something which Victorian audiences were a little shocked by. For modern day readers, Villette presents a great writer, working at the peak of her powers, overcoming personal tragedy to bring her art to the world.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Charlotte Brontë, Dramatic Works, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, romance, Villette

This story opens at a fashionable dinner party in Sir Robert Chiltern’s home in the heart of London’s stylish Grosvenor Square. One of Lady Chiltern’s old school-friends, Mrs. Cheveley, a woman with a dubious past, accosts Sir Robert and threatens to expose a financial crime that he had once participated in, unless he agrees to finance a fraudulent construction project that she’s promoting. Lady Chiltern is astounded when her husband who had been the severest critic of this project suddenly begins to speak in its favor. Yet she has secrets of her own, which she desperately needs to hide. Behind the lives of this fashionable set who inhabit the higher echelons of political life in England lie some very unsavory truths. An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde was wildly popular when it was first staged on January 3, 1895 and has remained one of his most performed and studied works ever since. Critics and audiences alike thoroughly enjoyed this tale of blackmail, mystery and high level political corruption. Garnished with Wilde’s inimitable witty one liners, the play combines an airy lightness with a solid underpinning of thought provoking ideas. The concept of public and private honor, the place of a woman in her husband’s life, society, marriage, femininity and feminism and what Mrs. Cheveley calls the “fine art of living” are some of the important themes explored in this play which takes place over just twenty-four hours in the lives of the characters. The play clocked more than a hundred performances in its first outing itself and has continued to delight viewers and readers ever since. It has been filmed at least four times, with the latest screen adaptation being in 1999, starring Julianne Moore and Cate Blanchett. Several television, audio and radio adaptations have been made. Some of the memorable quotes from the play include “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance!” “When the Gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers” “Even you are not rich enough Sir Robert, to buy back your past. No man is.” An Ideal Husband is relevant, especially today, more than a hundred years after it was first written, in this age of extreme media focus on the private lives of celebrities. It also takes a long hard look at the crumbling facade of Victorian upper class life in the closing years of the nineteenth century. For enthusiasts of Wilde’s delightful wit, almost endless banter between characters, mannered comedies and the subtle portrayal of the underlying tragedy of life, An Ideal Husband is indeed a great story to read!

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: An Ideal Husband, audio books, audiobook, Comedy, Dramatic Works, ebooks, free audio books, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Oscar Wilde, play

Civil Disobedience (Resistance to Civil Government) is an essay by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau that was first published in 1849. In it, Thoreau argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and that they have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice. Thoreau was motivated in part by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican–American War. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Henry David Thoreau, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Philosophy, Politics

A science fiction novel first published in 1895, The Time Machine was the first depiction of time travel, and the reason Wells consequently coined the term “time machine” which is now universally recognized. Furthermore it is considered to be one of the precursors to the science fiction genre and the Dying Earth subgenre. An undeniable classic, the novel offers a gripping plot, speculation, and an innovative portrayal of man’s hopes, fears, and human nature in general. The tale opens with the introduction of an English scientist and inventor, simply referred to as the Time Traveler, who hosts a dinner party for a number of guests. After dinner, the Time Traveler gives a lecture to the present men stating that time is simply a fourth dimension, and that time travel is in fact possible. He proceeds with a demonstration using a smaller model of his time machine and apparently makes it disappear into the future, though the group does not seem convinced. The following week the men return, as does their unkempt host who stumbles in, and subsequently begins the narration of his incredible account. His journey begins when his time machine takes him forward in time to the year 802,701 AD, where he encounters a society of small robed humanlike creatures called Eloi, who although possess beautiful features, are quite delicate. After exploring the area, the Time Traveler returns only to find his time machine missing, and decides to drop the matter for the time being. As the protagonist gets better acquainted with the Eloi, he infers that they lack curiosity and are rather lazy. In addition, he also comes across the bestial subterranean nocturnal Morlocks, who he believes to have taken his time machine. Left among two opposing races in a slowly disintegrating Earth, the Time Traveler must find a way back home, while simultaneously trying to uncover the roots of such a dark future. A great influence on future works alike, The Time Machine in turn encouraged and set the bar for other authors to pursue similar ideas and fuse adventure with philosophical speculation. Exploring various ideas including the repercussions of evolution, capitalism, and social class division, Wells not only creates an entertaining story, but also successfully accentuates the flaws of society. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, H. G. Wells, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, science, science-fiction, Teen/Young adult, The Time Machine, travel

The Last Days of Pompeii, a novel by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton tells the love story of the Greeks Glaucus and Ione who were living in Pompeii when Mt. Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the city. But aside from telling their romance, the book is also full of insights about the decadent lifestyle of the Romans during the later part of their empire’s history. The different characters in the story represent the different civilizations which they come from. Glaucus, the main protagonist in the novel was portrayed as a handsome Greek nobleman. His main love interest, Ione was a very beautiful Greek who ended up in Pompeii after being orphaned while she was still a child. Then, there’s also Arbaces, an Egyptian who was the guardian of Ione. He’s the villain in the novel and repeatedly attempted to seduce Ione but failed. Edward George Bulwer-Lytton interestingly set the story in Pompeii during the time when Roman society was already decaying. In the novel, Glaucus and Ione met and fall in love with each other. When Arbaces learned about this he cleverly devised a plan so that Glaucus will be convicted of a murder that he never committed. But as Glaucus was about to be fed to the lions in the amphitheatre as his punishment, the truth is revealed as to who really committed the murder. Don’t miss the end of this story to find how who the real culprit was and what the final fate of Pompeii would be. This book is definitely a good read for those who are looking for an interesting love story and at the same time to learn more about ancient Roman civilization. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, Last Days of Pompeii, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com